Japan’s nuclear authority is to conduct radiation surveys to measure the long-term effect on marine resources on the seabed off the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant that has been leaking toxic water since 2011, the Japanese media reports.

The tests which are to be conducted by the Nuclear Regulation
Authority (NRA) are aimed at measuring cesium levels at 600,000
points on the seabed from 200 locations, the Yomiuri newspaper
reported on Saturday.

The NRA is to monitor the spots in a 1,000 square-kilometer area
stretching 50 kilometers north-south and 20 kilometers east-west
off the crippled nuclear power plant, according to the daily.

Triggered by an earthquake and resulting tsunami, three of the
plant’s reactors suffered a nuclear meltdown in March 2011. Tokyo
Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the former operator of the
nuclear plant, now responsible for the clean-up says the reactors
are now stable but need to be kept cool.

The nuclear facility has subsequently been accumulating
radioactive water as groundwater passing through the power plant
becomes contaminated.

Meanwhile the protective barriers installed to prevent the flow
of toxic water into the ocean have proved ineffective. Japan’s
Ministry of Industry has recently estimated that about 300 tons
of the contaminated groundwater has been seeping into the Pacific
Ocean daily since the nuclear disaster.

The contamination has been worsened by leaks in some of the tanks
on Fukushima’s premises that are believed to have reached the
groundwater seeping into the sea. South Korean regulators have
already banned the import of 50 fishery products from eight
Japanese prefectures.

As TEPCO has been struggling to contain contaminated water at the
plant, the government has stepped in to take over some of the
responsibilities, arguing that the utility seems incapable of
fixing the matter on its own.

The consequences of the nuclear catastrophe in Japan have
triggered international debate after Tokyo won the right to host
the 2020 Olympic Games, beating Madrid and Istanbul.

Just hours before Tokyo was chosen on September 7, Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe reassured the International Olympic Committee
that radioactive water leakage from the wrecked nuclear plant was
"under control” and "will never do any damage to
Tokyo"

His speech caused a wave of criticism in Japan. On Saturday, the
front-page of national newspaper Asahi Shimbun read
"Contaminated water 'control' running astray,""Credibility of prime minister's message to overseas is
shaking."

A senior TEPCO official Kazuhiko Yamashita contradicted the Prime
Minister on Friday by saying the radioactive water leakage at
the crippled Fukushima plant ‘was not under control’.

In reaction to Yamashita’s comments, Democratic Party of Japan
Secretary-General Akihiro Ohata said the prime minister should
fully explain his claim. TEPCO released a statement downplaying
Yamashita’s comments saying that Abe meant “that the impact of
radioactive materials was limited to the area within the port of
the power station.”